Art Safari Tours in 2016

An exhilarating new itinerary to PNG, in response to requests from Art Safari guests.  

A small group and an exceptional itinerary.

Art Safari is pleased to invite artists of all standards to join an exhilarating new 12 day painting holiday with artist Mary-Anne Bartlett to Papua New Guinea. Mixing colour, tradition, wildlife and culture the new Birds & People of Paradise Art Safari tour promises an undiscovered world where you will be able to sketch and paint some of the wonders of this most fascinating Oceanian country, one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.

This is the expedition for adventurous artists, ready for an explosion of colour!   We have planned this trip to have only short amounts of walking.

Mary-Anne Bartlett will work closely with our knowledgeable local guide to understand the ever changing habitats and eco-systems, exotic birds and wildlife, to get a feel for the lifestyles and history of the indigenous people we encounter.

Join Mark Boyd for two days of drawing and sketching at Pensthorpe near Fakenham, focusing on the birds, butterflies and meadows of this pretty Norfolk nature reserve.

Artist James Willis is leading our first Art Safari to Tuscany,

This Art Safari is for people who are looking for a relaxing and creative getaway with an inspiring tutor, dreamy views, stylish accommodation, delicious food and wine. 

We are flying to Pisa Galileo Galilei Airport and staying at a beautiful villa in the Tuscan countryside near Cortona. 

Cortona is perched high on the hillside of Mount Egidio, surrounded by olive groves and age old cypresses, it’s a walled town and dates back to Etruscan times.   

We make painting excursions to nearby towns and villages in the Tuscan hills, painting landscapes, Renaissance inspired building, Monasteries, ancient Churches and Abbeys.

Wildlife artist and author John Threlfall is leading our first Art Safari to Hungary for the annual spectacle of migrating birds at Hortobagy National Park.

John is passionate about wildlife and spends as much time drawing and painting directly from nature as he can, in the studio he works from his field sketches in acrylic, oil or pastel.

This 6 night holiday is concentrated on painting and sketching migrating cranes and other birds.  

At this time of year 1000’s of cranes using the eastern migratory route stop rest and feed and to gather their strength in Hungary before the last part of their journey to wintering sites in Northern Africa, Tunisia and Sudan.  Some smaller flocks of cranes overwinter on the Hungarian Plain.

A wonderful opportunity to study elephants and other animals at leisure on a relaxing residential course in South Luangwa National Park. We will spend time in the national park and also work up our field sketches back at our base on the banks of the great Luangwa River. 

South Luangwa is the most impressive of National Parks, with incredible wildlife populations and continually enthralling sightings.

Dry and hot, this is an exceptional time to see Africa in the build-up before the rains – dramatic skies and the whole majesty of the animal kingdom before us. 

Birding is always excellent here.  Big cats proliferate.  Large prides of lions are now so familiar to us that we know each matriarch and each male’s family history and can chart family groups and events.  Leopard sightings are frequent, and we often see leopards by day lounging in trees.

Our activities include day and night game drives, a visit to a local village and Tribal Textiles.

Join Mary-Anne Bartlett at the Art Safari Studio in Suffolk for three days of working up sketches into final paintings.  Bring a sketchbook from a tour and see how it transforms during the studio process.